Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Zelus luridus: The Greek-bearing Gift of Language

The Greek-bearing gift of language is reflected in the name of this beautiful bug: Zelus luridus.

Online Etymology Dictionary states: "zeal: late 14c., from L.L. zelus 'zeal, emulation' (cf. O.Fr. zel, It. zelo, Sp. celo), a Church word, from Gk. zelos 'zeal, ardor, jealousy,' which is of uncertain origin." About luridus, it states "lurid: 1650s, from L. luridus 'pale yellow, ghastly,' of uncertain origin, perhaps cognate with Gk. khloros (see Chloe). The figurative sense of 'sensational' is first attested 1850." About Chloe, it says, "from Gk. Khloe, lit. 'young green shoot;' related to khloros 'greenish-yellow,' . . . ."

A pastel shimmer of bug with peach eyes and lemon-lime body, a translucent hemiptera designed like a bauble for a fine gold necklace. Appearances can be deceiving: this lurid true bug is an assassin waiting to "stab [a] victim and then inject it with a lethal toxin that dissolves the victim's tissue, then . . . suck up the liquefied tissues through its long beak."

(If you have the stomach for action, see this National Geographic video about a different assassin bug.)

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